Hockey stick

ABSTRACT

A hockey stick includes a shaft and a blade. The blade has a toe end, a heel end, a top edge and a bottom edge. The blade has an opening portion within a region between the toe portion and 1/3 of a length between the toe portion and the heel portion of the blade from the toe portion.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to an ice hockey stuff, and more particularly to a hockey stick.

2. Description of the Related Art

FIG. 1 shows a conventional ice hockey stick, which has a blade 1. The hockey players usually swing the hockey stick to drive the puck by various skills, such as hit, pick, and pitch. With the different skills, the hockey players have to hit the puck by different portions of the blade. Basically, hit needs more power, so that players have to hit the puck by a main portion 2 at a center of the blade 1. The main portion 2 should be the strongest area of the blade 1. Pick and pitch need flexibility and speed rather than power, so that player has to hit the puck by a front portion 3 adjacent to a toe end of the blade 1. The front portion 3 should be soft and more flexible. However, the conventional hockey sticks have the entire blade with the same property so that the blade cannot meet the requirement of hitting the puck by various skills.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a hockey stick, which has different structure properties on the blade.

According to the objective of the present invention, a hockey stick includes a shaft and a blade. The blade has a toe end, a heel end, a top edge and a bottom edge. The blade has an opening portion within a region between the toe portion and ⅓ of a length between the toe portion and the heel portion of the blade from the toe portion.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view of the blade of the conventional hockey stick;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the blade of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a front view of the blade of a second preferred embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 4 is front view of the blade of a third preferred embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As shown in FIG. 2, a hockey stick of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a shaft 10, and a blade 20. The blade 20 includes a toe end 21, a heel end 22, a top edge 23 and a bottom edge 24. A transverse length of the blade 20 is defined as L. The blade 20 has an opening portion 25 within a region between the toe end 21 and ⅓ L from the toe end 21. In the present embodiment, the opening portion 25 includes a plurality of parallel vertical openings to increase a flexibility of the region of the blade 20 adjacent to the toe end 21.

The advantages of hockey stick the present invention with the opening portion 25 include:

1. The region with the opening portion 25 is more flexible than a center region of the blade that the player can pick and pitch the puck faster and precisely.

2. The opening portion 25 may reduce the weight of the blade 20 about 15% to 20% (Typically, the blade is about 80 g to 100 g, and the opening portion 25 may reduce 10 g to 15 g). The hockey stick is lighter than the conventional hockey stick that make player easier to swing the hockey stick.

3. Compare with the conventional blade, a center of gravity of the blade 20 of the present invention shifts to the heel end 22 that a torque of the blade 20 of the present invention is decreased because the arm between the center of gravity of the blade 20 and hands of player is shortened. That provides a well performance of controlling the puck. The hitting point of the puck on the blade 20 is closer to the center of gravity of the blade 20, or on the center of gravity, that may provide a greater power to hit the puck.

4. The opening portion 25 of the blade 20 may reduce the resistance of air when player swings the hockey stick that may increase the swing speed.

The layout of the openings of the opening portion is not restricted in description of the first preferred embodiment. FIG. 3 shows a hockey stick of the second preferred embodiment of the present invention, which a blade has an opening portion 25 within a region between the toe end 21 and ⅓ L from the toe end 21. The opening portion 25 includes three horizontal openings. The vertical openings may increase the vertical flexibility of the blade, and the vertical openings may increase the vertical flexibility of the blade.

FIG. 4 shows a hockey stick of the third preferred embodiment of the present invention, which a blade has an opening portion 25 with only one opening. The functions of the hockey stick of the third preferred embodiment are as same as above embodiments.

The description above is a few preferred embodiments of the present invention and the equivalence of the present invention is still in the scope of the claim of the present invention. 

1. A hockey stick, comprising a shaft and a blade with a toe end, a heel end, a top edge and a bottom edge, wherein the blade has an opening portion within a region between the toe portion and ⅓ of a length between the toe portion and the heel portion of the blade from the toe portion.
 2. The hockey stick as defined in claim 1, wherein the opening portion has an opening.
 3. The hockey stick as defined in claim 1, wherein the opening portion has a plurality of openings.
 4. The hockey stick as defined in claim 3, wherein the openings are vertical.
 5. The hockey stick as defined in claim 3, wherein the openings are horizontal. 